Coupon strip-ticket.



Vyfness 1 I @M Toos 3,1007

F. A. BERRY.

COUPON STRIP TICKET.

14951 use APPLICATION FILED JULY l0, 1912.

Patented Feb. 2

a mi ercrj FRANK A. BERRY, 0F WOLLASTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

COUPON STRIP-TICKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25,1913.

Appiicaaon mea July 1o, 1912.V serial No. 708,603.

To all 'who/m. if 'may concern Be it known that I, FRANK A. BERRY, a citizen of the United States. residing at Ivvollaston, county of Norfolk, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coupon Strip-Tickets, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to strip tickets and particularly to the strip coupon ticket as employed by railroads and like transportation companies.

The strip ticket, while offering many features of advantage and now more generally accepted as the most convenient form of ticket. is open to a serio-us objection on account of its bulk. This is particularlyv true on roads which are compelled to issue mileage over very long distances or mileage in large amounts, and is especially true in those railroads which are compelled to issue mileage on a one cent basis, which very much increases the number of coupons necessary. The reduction of the length of strips of mileage is, therefore, of great importance but the matter, while apparently simple, has been found to involve a very considerable difficulty in view of the practical necessity of having any possible group of coupons contain all those. necessaryv means of identification which have been found essential to the safe conduct of business. These identification marks are usually a road indicating' symbol and generally the name or initials of the road; also, a serial number or character indicating the ticket from which the coupons have been removed. Furthermore, it is usually necessary to have some means of identifying the ticket in some particular issue or group by which the circumstances of its issuance or the form of its contract may be readily identified. These and other items have been found absolutely indispensable on account of the frequent attempts at counterfeiting which have been a constant menace to the railroad and the printer.

It is the object of the present invention to devise a strip coupon ticket of greatly condensed form having all the necessary requisites of safeguard and so devised and const-ructed that these elements of safety will be maintained effectual in all the various circumstances of use.

The construction and use of my ticket will be more fully described in the specification which follows. In that specification' and in the drawing which forms a part thereof, I shall setI forth more particularly as an illustrative embodiment of my invention a form of ticket which has been found satisfactory for practical purposes and which is 'of about one half the size of the corresponding` tickets which it replaces.

Throughout. specification and drawings like reference numerals are employed to indicate corresponding parts and in the drawings I have shown a section of a ticket strip in accordance with my invention. This section of ticket illustrates the numbers applied throughout the entire length of the strip. It comprises a double web A and B separated by a median line of perforation C. Each web is made up of a plurality of coupons a and 7) separated by transverse lines of perforations al, 1. On the left, in margin of the web A, is a numeral series D, and on the right of the opposite web is a numeral series E. The two series D and E form a complete consecutive system of numbering of which the column D contains the odd numerals and the column E the even numerals. The entire numeral series VD and E as a whole is divided at regular intervals, usually in fives, by a transverse line or mark F. These lines F fall in staggered order in the two webs A and B. In the web A is printed a column of the initials of the railroad, indicated at G, and in the web B is printed the serial number, as indicated at H. The initial G and the serial H are also arranged in staggered order. The usual form number is indicated at I and is preferably placed on the web B. In tearing the mileage the conductor tears from the lowest numeral, which in the present instance would be the numeral 1001 in the web A. In coupons based on the one cent arrangement. a minimum of five cents is placed on the amount which will be torn. It is for this reason that the numeral series is divided into fives in the present instance. If the limit were tens it would preferably be divided into coupons of ten.

It will be noted that in tearing any tive coupons in their proper serial order the group will be certain to contain not only the initials G but the serial H and the form I which gives the entire information necessary for the identification of the coupons.

The details of the type, printing and arrangement may obviously be changed, all

Without departing from the Spirit of invention if within the lin'lits of the pended claim.

That I, therefore, claim zi nd desire to secure by Letters Patent isc A strip coupon railroad ticket comprising a double web of mileage coupons, said web having intermediate perfor-ations eX- tending longitudinally thereof between the two sets of coupons and said coupons being separable each from each b v perforations, a numbers Series continuously applied to said coupons in sequence and arranged with the odd numbers on the coupons of'. one web and the even numbers on ther Coupons of the other web, said coupons being divided my ap- Gapies of this patent may 'be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the serially into uniform groups by suitable indications arranged in staggered order in. seid websE a column of road indicating symbols arranged along the coupons of the web having the odd numbers and a column of the ticket number arranged along the coupons of the web having the even numbers, Said ticket numbers sind rond Symbols being also relatively staggered.

In testimony whereof I nttix my signature in presence of tivo witnesses.

LEWIS A. CAMPBELL, R. B. ELLMS.

Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

